Family Ties

To Measure Love

by: Hotaru

Notes and the likes: Lots of dialogue. Most betwixt two people so if you get confused...so Thanksgiving is next week. I'm thankful for REVIEWS. Hotaru loves REVIEWS!

-=-

"I'm a bit nervous." Sherie said as she and Chris walked towards the restaurant Peter worked in.

"That's alright. Take a few deep breaths, you'll be fine." Chris replied, patting her on the shoulder. She could barely feel it through her thick pea coat and sweater. It was exceptionably chilly that mid-morning.

Chris held the door open for her, and she walked into the cool looking restaurant. "What should we do?" She asked.

"Ask the guy at the bar if he's working today. If he is, ask the guy to tell him you're waiting or something." Chris offered.

Sherie went over the bar, and Chris sat down at a stool and ordered a coke. "Pete? Sure, he's working. I'll let him know a pretty girl is here to see him." The bartender said with a wink. Sherie's eyes widened slightly as she sat down beside Chris.

"He's just saying that to be nice." Chris said reassuringly. Getting comments about your looks from older men was creepy.

"I hope so."

"Last night, Claire mentioned her moving in with Leon."

"Yeah? What's she say?"

"Just that she appreciated me finally accepting it..and that we should talk about it soon 'cause she doesn't want to move in the summer."

"Yeah. That would suck."

Chris nodded over Sherie's head, causing her to turn around. "Sherie? Hey, what are you doing here?" Peter asked, smiling.

"I...left my bag here the last time we were here. I was wondering if you'd seen it." Sherie said nervously.

"Did you check the lost and found box?"

"I didn't know you had one."

"Yeah, come on."

He put his hand on Sherie's back and led her into a small hallway and into a room. "Is this all stuff that people leave here?" Sherie asked.

"Yeah. Coats and stuff are usually claimed within a day or two. Kids toys, hats, scarves. It's like a schmorgesborg of others people stuff." Peter replied. "Here's where all the purses are." He kicked a box across the floor towards her, and she knelt down to look through it.

"Sorry to bother you. I wasn't sure who to ask for. I figured you'd be the best bet."

"No, it's okay. You'd be suprised at how boring it can be walking around in circles all day." He replied with a laugh.

"It's not here. Hm. That's okay, it didn't really have anything important in it."

"Sorry. If you want, I can talk to the manager to see if we can re-emburse you or something."

Sherie smiled. "Are you always this nice to people who've lost things?" She asked. Peter smirked.

"Not really. Most of them grate my nerves." He replied.

"I'm glad that I don't."

They kind of looked at each other in silence, before Sherie pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket. "Well, here's my number. Give me a call sometime." She said. Peter glanced down at the paper.

"If I find your purse or...?" He questioned.

"No. Just cause." She smiled at him one last time before walking back into the restaurant and over to Chris.

"How'd it go?" He asked. Sherie couldn't stop smiling.

"Is he looking at me?" She asked.

"Yes. And smiling! What happened?" Chris asked, as he finished off his soda.

"I think we were flirting."

"Cool. You gave him your number?"

"Yes. I think we should go."

Chris tossed two bucks down on the counter, nodded at Peter, then walked with Sherie out of the restaurant.

---

"I wonder what Claire's gonna think about all this." Sherie said half to herself on the way home.

"She'll probably be happy for you." Chris replied, turning onto the highway.

"Yeah. But she still has to play the role of protector and guardian. So _someone_ has to be worried."

"Leon?"

"I think he's more concerned with not getting snuffed by you."

"He let me kick his ass."

"Where are we going?" Sherie asked, noticing they weren't headed home.

"Shooting range." Chris replied with a smirk.

"Are you fucking serious?!"

"Sherie! Watch your mouth!"

"Sorry, sorry! But...you're serious?!"

"Yeah."

"Oh man...this day has been sureal."

Chris merely smiled. He had been jealous of how much Sherie adored Leon, and his efforts to be closer to her were working. Besides, if they were going to be living alone together, they might as well get along right?

"So when's Jill leaving?" Sherie asked when they arrived at the shooting range.

"Soon. We haven't talked about it really." Chris replied, sounding kind of sad.

"Have you thought about maybe going back with her to visit or something?"

"Not really. Why?"

"I dunno. It's kind of selfish if you want her to come here all the time. I mean, if you want to get points you should be willing to travel."

"Points for what?"

Sherie rolled her eyes. "You're so dense." She muttered, while Chris signed in and got the supplies.

"Now, put these goggles on, and put the headphones on." Chris ordered, walking down the hall to a free spot.

"Okay." Sherie replied, doing so quickly.

"Now, you want to put your left foot forwards, and your right foot back a bit, and turned to the side so you're in a comfortable, stable stance." Sherie did so, shifting a bit to make sure she was stable.

"Alright, you set?" Sherie nodded. Chris handed her the gun, and smiled slightly. "Okay, aim at the target, line it up with this part of the gun."

"What should I aim at?"

"Whatever you want."

Nodding, Sherie lined up with the figure's abdomen. "And when you're ready, squeeze the trigger. But don't be stiff legged, or you'll fall back." Chris said, standing back. Sherie fired, and stepped back with her left foot, suprised at the kick back.

"Oh wow." She breathed, her hands tingling.

"Congratulations! You got him in the crotch!" Chris remarked, peering at the piece of paper about twenty feet ahead of them.

"My aim was a little too low. But still, it's gonna hurt. That sucker'd be on the floor!"

Laughing, Chris pat her on the back. "Keep going, you'll get better." He said, standing back to watch. The kid was a natural. About two hours later, they collected the sheets full of bullet holes for Sherie to keep as souvenirs. "My hands are still tingling. This was so awesome." Sherie said as they climbed into the car.

"Yeah, first time always is. You ready to head back? I bet lunch's waiting." Chris replied, starting the car.

"Yes, I'm starving!"

---

When they got home, Claire and Jill were sitting in the kitchen talking. "Hey guys, where'd you go?" Jill asked.

"Sherie got a taste of what it's like to be a gun slinger." Chris replied.

"Ooh, how'd you like it?" Jill asked.

"It as great! It was such a thrill, I can't wait to go again!" Sherie replied.

"Yeah, yeah. Do some homework then we'll talk." Chris said.

"Oh, before I forget, someone called for you." Claire spoke up.

Sherie raised her eyebrows. "Who?" She asked.

"Some boy." Claire replied, grinning slyly, handing over a piece of note paper. Sherie grabbed the paper and ran up to her room, forgetting about how hungry she was.

"Wait, what'd I miss?" Jill asked.

"The waiter, remember? She went to talk to him today, and she gave him her number. I guess he called." Chris replied.

"Aw, how cute."

"She has a crush. Just like you!" Claire said, smiling brightly at Chris.

Jill blushed and looked down at the table. "Oh, I've made you two uncomfortable! I'm going to see Leon, bye!" Claire said gleefully, running out the front door.

"She enjoys torturing me." Chris said, sitting down in a chair.

"Me too."

Their eyes met, and they stared briefly, before getting up from their chairs and kissing each other furiously.

---

Meanwhile, upstairs, Sherie sat on her bed, phone in hand, trying to calm down before calling. "Look, there's nothing to be afraid of. Just call him." She told herself. She quickly picked up the phone and dialed before she had time to stop herself. It rang three times before someone picked up.

"Hello?" A familiar voice greeted.

"..hi! It's Sherie, sorry I missed your call." Sherie said quickly.

"Oh, that's okay. I would have waited if I had known you were going out some place."

"Actually, I didn't know where I was going either. I thought I was going out, but then Chris said we were finally going to the shooting range. It was so great."

"Shooting range?"

"Yeah. I've been around guns for the majority of my life. And I've been itching to get my hand on one for the longest."

"Huh. Don't hear that everyday."

Sherie laughed slightly. "Yeah, it's kind of weird. But anyway, what'd you call for?" She asked.

"Nothing in particular. I got off of work early and have been bored out of my mind the entire vacation so I was just seeing what you were doin'." Peter replied.

"Me too. I'm...doing nothing. I've done nothing the entire vacation."

"Same here. So..you don't have plans?"

"No...you?"

"No."

"So..you wanna...do something?"

"Yeah. I mean, if you do, that'd be cool."

Sherie put her hand over her mouth and contained a squeal. "Yeah...sure. Like what?" She asked.

"Ah..I don't know. Have you eaten dinner?" He replied.

"No. Nothing but breakfast, actually, I'm pretty starving."

"We can get something to eat if you want. I just wanna get out of here."

"Yeah, sure. That'd be great. Here, I'll give you my address. I'll be ready in like fifteen minutes, okay?"

"Alright."

---

Once she was off the phone, Sherie practically barreled into the bathroom. She took a quick shower to freshen up, and looked in the closet. She pulled out a fuzzy white sweater and black pants, and black boots. Fixing her hair in the mirror, she put on some light blue eye shadow and looked around for some perfume. Finding nothing, she went into Claire's room and spritsed on some wild flower stuff and ran downstairs to wait. Jill and Chris weren't around, which was suspicious. But Sherie was far too nervous to worry about that. There was a light knock on the door a few minutes later, so taking a deep breath, Sherie went and opened the door. She smiled and stepped out of the way to let Peter in.

"Welcome. I'd introduce you but everyone seems to be missing." She said, closing the door.

"How many people live here?" Peter asked, looking around.

"Officially..three. But Claire's boyfriend's always over, and a friend of ours is visiting from Europe, so she's here too."

"Wow. Must be busy then."

"Yeah. I kind of miss the peace and quiet, but then I'll miss everyone when they're gone."

"So you wanna get goin'?"

Sherie nodded and went into the kitchen, her boots clunking against the floor loudly. "Let me just leave 'em a note and we can go." She said, scribbling down on a note pad. Peter had walked and stood near the front door, so Sherie went to the bottom of the stairs.

"Chris, I'm going out! See you later!" She shouted, before Peter held the door open for her.

"Okay!" A muffled voice yelled from upstairs.

"Huh I guess someone's here then."

The air was brisk, but comfortable. "So how are you?" Sherie asked.

"Ah. Could be better. My dad's already hounding me about college." Peter replied.

"That sucks."

"Yeah. God, I work all the time, and he still asks why I don't have my own place yet."

"Does he...resent you or something?"

"Yeah. He loves my sisters, but I guess he wants to be the man of the house."

"That blows. He shouldn't mistreat you just 'cause you're a guy."

"Yeah, well, try telling him that."

"I'm sorry." Sherie apologized.

"It's ok. I didn't mean to..get mad at you, I guess. I just can't talk to anyone about it you know?"

"Well, you can talk to me when ever, okay? Then I'll tell you all about my wicked past."

"How wicked can it be? You seem like a good person."

"Thanks, I am. But still--wait, where are we going?"

"Train station. Don't have a car, don't have a liscence. Hope you don't mind."

Sherie shook her head. "No, it's fine."

"So anyway, what wicked things have you experienced?" Peter asked.

"Hm. What interesting things should I tell you..."

"Why don't you start from the beginning. Where'd you used to live?"

"Well, my parents were researchers for the Umbrella Corporation. So Raccoon City."

"You mean that big conglomerate that almost went bankrupt cause of some cover up conspiracy or something?" Peter asked incredously as they descended the stairs to the train platform.

"Yes, that Umbrella Corp. My dad altered a virus...that turned people into cannibals." Sherie continued.

"What?"

"Yeah. He worked with a guy named Wesker, who collaberated on the creation of the aforementioned T-Virus."

"Wow. So what happened?"

"You sure you want to know. It's a lot to take in, Pete."

"Well, yeah."

Sherie sighed deeply. "There was an 'incident' in Raccoon City. From what I know, the T-Virus leaked at a research facility, turning everyone inside into zombies. It also affected animals, too. There were rabid dogs, and crows and stuff...a special police unit was sent in to investigate some murders in the forests on the outskirts of town. The first team sent was totally wiped out. One person survived, out of...six."

"Jesus Christ." Peter breathed.

"Chris, one of my guardians, he was a member of the second team that was sent to the woods to find the first team. Him, that friend from Europe, and another guy were the only survivors. After that, his sister, the other guardian, went to Raccoon City to look for him, which is where we met."

"How'd they survive? If there were...cannibals and dogs and shit all over?" Peter asked, as the train approached.

"Hell, how did _I_ survive? They had guns, and ammo and a medic. I'm not saying that it was easy, but it's a miracle I survived."

"How old were you when this happened?"

"Twelve. I was small, and hid in closets and air vents and stuff 'til the zombies left. After awhile, I met up with Claire, and stayed with her. But I survived on my own a bit before that."

"What about your parents?"

"I don't know how my mom died. Claire's boyfriend knows, but he isn't going to tell me. I guess he wants to spare me the pain or some bull shit like that. My dad...lets just say he got really fucked up."

The doors to the train opened with a ding, and the two stepped on. "So you went to live with...Chris and Claire after you left the city?" Peter asked.

"Yeah. We hopped a train right as the facility blew up. We were lucky." Sherie replied.

"Well. That's...quite a tale."

"Yep. But you asked."

"So are you like...officially adopted or..?" Peter continued.

"I don't know. I don't think so, really. I just started living with them, since I didn't know if I had any relatives, and they were the only people I knew." Sherie replied, glad the train car was empty.

"That sucks. They didn't know your parents, right?"

"No. No one except the people at the lab did. It's sad. I practically grew up there."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Like..they were to cheap to pay for a babysitter or something, so they'd leave notes like 'Working late, stay with Bob' or whatever tech they paid to watch me."

"That's fucked up."

Sherie nodded and leaned back. "I take it you resent them a lot huh?" He questioned.

"Of course. It kind of makes me seem like a bad person. That I can hate my parents and everything, but still want them to be alive. Kind of selfish, don't you think?"

"Not at all. They're your parents. They're supposed to be there for you, especially when you were so young."

"I guess that's why I'm mature now. I had no childhood."

"At least you didn't turn out like some of those slut bags at school."

"Oh, them. Spoiled rotten, and they treat their parents like shit anyway."

"Oh, this is our stop."

They got off at an area of town Sherie didn't recognize and started walking towards the street. "The only people who like those girls are...losers. Like, this one guy I know called me up like 'Yo man I just scored with so-and-so'. What am I supposed to say? 'Good for you, hope she didn't give you herpes'?" Peter said. Sherie laughed.

"That is so true! And disgusting at the same time. Why would you want to sleep with someone like that?"

"Desperate to get laid?"

"Maybe. Well, I'm glad you're not like that. I can't stand people like that. Where are we going anyway?"

"Mike's Diner. A guy I know works there. They're supposed to close early today but he said he'd let me in."

"Wow, you've gone through so much trouble."

"Ah, it's my first date in awhile. And I'm already being a cheapskate taking you to a diner.."

"Oh, come on. Diner's have great food, if you know the right ones." Sherie said, trying not to blush.

"See, that's what I like about you. You're not like any other girl I know." Peter complimented.

"O-oh? How so?"

"Well...I think with you, it's not all about money and material possessions and stuff."

"How do you know me so well? Been stalking me, have you?"

Peter smiled. He had a great smile. They stopped walking, and faced each other nervously. "Not quite. I do have my minions but...I guess I just get a feeling when I'm with you." He said. Sherie swallowed, her mouth dry.

"Thank you. Since we're being honest, I've sort of...been...admiring you from afar."

"You have?" He chuckled. "I usually notice when girls stare at me."

"I do it discreetly."

They both smiled, and tentativly, Sherie stood on her toes and pressed her lips against Peter's gently. Her mind was running a mile a minute. Lowering her feet, she licked her lips and looked at the floor. "I can't believe I just did that." She whispered.

"I'm glad you did." Peter said, taking her hand, and continuing on their way.